Starting from woodblock printing that dates back to the 6th century to laser, and now the latest 3-D printing.
The printing industry has been continuously evolving.
In such a scenario, if a business doesn’t follow the Darwinian theory, ‘Survival of the fittest’, it’ll surely meet its ‘Waterloo’. Because, never-ending evolutions will render that business unfit for survival over time.
Digitization, AI, IoT, and other such technologies have swarmed the market. And no industry is off the hook unless they embrace them. So is the case with the print industry.
It’s become imperative for printing industry owners to put their thinking caps on and go that extra mile to grow their revenue.
Here are the emerging printing industry trends 2022 and the future. While you might find plenty of them on the internet, the following ones can definitely bring a difference to your business.
A quick outline of future trends in printing industry that this post covers:
- Customization Remains As Perennial as Grass
- The Curious Case of ‘Smart’ Printing
- On Your Guard! Security in Printing Has Become Mandatory
- The Not So Surprising Boom of eCommerce
- Marketplace Model is the New Black
- 3-D Printing is Going Mainstream
- Cloud Printing is the New Buzzword in the Market
- The Expansion of On-demand Printing
- The Industry is Going Green
- Inkjet Printing Market Has Started to Buckle Up
1. Customization Remains As Perennial as Grass
Shopify’s tailored recommendations, Nike’s co-creation service, StitchFix’s curated styling, there’s a lot of talk about personalization. Because people love the touch of personalization in products or services.
😍 A Deloitte research shows that 36% of customers expressed an interest in purchasing a personalized product.
In such a scenario where personalization has taken the eCommerce industry by storm, how can the print industry stay behind?
Luckily, the proliferation of Web to Print has made it extremely easy for print businesses to sell custom products online.
With a Web to Print store integrated with a Product Design Tool, you sell a variety of customizable products ranging from custom apparel to gifts to marketing collaterals.
An all-in-one Web to Print Solution is an excellent solution for those businesses who want to make an online shift. You get everything you need to successfully start and manage your print business.
On the other hand, if you already have an existing store, you can easily integrate the Product Design Tool to get started with product customization.
Having a tool comes with a variety of benefits like enhanced customer experience, improved satisfaction, and increased sales.
Start selling customized products with PrintXpand Product Design Tool. Click the link below to read more about the various features and functionalities of the tool.
2. The Curious Case of ‘Smart’ Printing
The Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence has managed to carve out a niche for themselves everywhere today.
🔍 Do you know the spending on AI technologies is likely to grow to $97.9 billion in 2023?
Both AI and IoT are playing vital roles in revolutionizing the printing industry. Here’s a gist of how the new era of smart printing looks:
✅ With smart printers in place, more and more printing service providers are getting smart, and saving paper and resources.
✅ Printing businesses can use print management software that integrates smart algorithms to recommend layouts and minimize wastage of paper.
✅ Further, printing sensors can send signals to indicate the need for machine maintenance or ink replacement. This is highly effective in reducing downtime of every printer machine.
✅ AI can also help reroute printing jobs automatically to another printer. This way, printing jobs become hassle-free and efficient.
✅ AI-generated designs is another trend to keep in mind. Neural networks, and deep learning methods are playing a huge role in image generation.
✅ AI trained on large language models makes LLM fine-tuning and receiving progressive results possible.
Handpicked related content for you! – Read all about optimizing your printing business operations with the help of a Print ERP software. Automate your print workflow and be more efficient!
3. On Your Guard! Security in Printing Has Become Mandatory
Cybercrimes are plaguing anyone and everyone. Printing industry is no exception. Companies dealing in print services and products must ensure that they are cyber-secure.
😱 1.52 million Dollars. That’s the lost business average cost that happened in 2020 owing to cyber-attacks.
In 2022 and years beyond, we will see print service providers prioritizing on print security. Here are a couple of points that will help you get more understanding on security in printing.
✅ Installation of security software can help you secure sensitive data of customers against tampering or hacking.
✅ By using AI, you can also increase the security of printing jobs. And control what employees of different departments can print with the ‘printer authorization’ feature.
✅ Print security assessment reports help in identifying vulnerabilities, and take necessary actions to create a secure environment.
4. The Not So Surprising Boom of eCommerce
eCommerce has taken the entire world by storm of late. You hardly need statistics to prove this, but just for the record:
🛒 eCommerce revenue for 2020 reached over $4.2 billion. By 2024, yearly global eCommerce sales are expected to exceed $6 billion.
If you have an offline printing business, setting up an estore to sell print products is sure to work wonders.
The combination of online shop and product customization can skyrocket sales and consumer base, and take your business to new heights.
If you already have an online presence, it’s time to jump on to the latest eCommerce trends to create excellent shopping experiences.
Personalized marketing, voice search, chatbots, highly optimized websites, quick fulfillment processes, are some ways to lead your industry.
Want to take your printing business online? 🤔
See how PrintXpand All-in-one Web to Print Software can assist you in everything from building to managing to growing your business.
5. Marketplace Model is the New Black
There is a surge in shoppers buying from online marketplaces like Amazon, Etsy, etc. To be precise, they are five times more likely to search on a marketplace than a company website.
👀 $3.23 trillion spent globally on the top 100 online marketplaces in 2021.
To cater to this new buying pattern, printing businesses are replicating the successful model of online marketplaces.
One of the most popular examples of print marketplace is Zazzle. It is a C2C marketplace that connects independent designers to shoppers. Creators can monetize by providing their creative services while shoppers can buy products with unique prints.
To widen your customer base, and generate new revenue streams, you can consider creating a print marketplace.
Based on your business logic, you can choose to have a B2B, B2C, or a C2C model. Typically, a marketplace platform includes three main stakeholders – the admin, end-customers, and either vendor or reseller or artist.
This centralized platform enables marketplace owners to monetize from each transaction that happens on the platform.
Handpicked related content for you! – Know all about how you can successfully build a print marketplace with an added USP of product customization. Explore important features like branded stores for vendors, pull inventory, payment modules, and such.
6. 3-D Printing is Going Mainstream
3-D printing used to be a niche area earlier. But with the advent of high-tech 3-D printers at highly affordable prices, this industry has witnessed a big revolution.
⬆️ In 2020, the worldwide market for 3D printing was 12.6 billion U.S. dollars. It is likely to grow at a CAGR of 21.0% from 2021 to 2028.
While some leading brands have already embraced it, some have yet to do so. 3-D printing can be a boon to different industries like construction, education, automotive, art, furniture, firearms, eyewear, aerospace and more!
So, 3-D printing technology is one of the fastest growing printing industry trends that you can’t afford to miss out on in the years ahead. By delivering 3-D prints to customers, print service providers can make huge profits.
7. Cloud Printing is the New Buzzword in the Market
Cloud Printing is another printing industry trend with the potential to shape the future of the print industry.
Many big players in the print industry like Linux and Lexmark have already got on the bandwagon of cloud printing by providing cloud-managed print service.
It does away with the need for on-premise employees and servers. One can easily carry out a print job even remotely with cloud printing.
With its power, driverless printing is possible. Meaning, you do not need a software driver to connect a device to a printer every time. Printers access whatever they need to print straight from the cloud service.
8. The Expansion of On-demand Printing
Print-on-Demand is a trend these days. Most of the e-commerce store owners are utilizing this business trend.
If you are a print product supplier, you can partner with different e-store owners. The more custom orders from your clients (e-store owners) pour in, the more profit you make. Also, providing print-on-demand feature for e-stores will create a new source of income for you.
Big players in the e-commerce industry are now adopting print-on-demand for their e-stores. And you want to be ready for it.
9. The Industry is Going Green
The print industry can’t go on without accepting the elephant in the room – environmental concerns.
🌍 According to a Nielsen survey, 73% of global consumers say they would definitely change their consumption habits to reduce environmental impact.
Sustainable printing practices earlier were optional. But with the rise in awareness among people, they have become necessary.
HP has already initiated low-carbon printing. This is an initiative taken to reduce the impact on the environment.
✅ Many companies have started leveraging sustainable printing methods like LED UV printing, digital printing, using recycled paper, etc.
✅ Brands have also started selling products that promote sustainability for instance apparel made from recycled materials, other alternatives to packaging.
10. Inkjet Printing Market Has Started to Buckle Up
When we talk about advanced printing technology, Inkjet tops the list.
Inkjet is quickly growing as it has the potential to meet the changing preferences of customers, and deliver great quality as compared to alternatives.
💰 The Inkjet print market is right now worth $80.4 billion which is likely to reach $118.2 billion in 2025 according to latest Smithers’ report.
The coming years will see more interest in Inkjet printing especially within the packaging segment. Below are a few top Inkjet trends that are shaping the industry.
✅ Drop on Demand Inkjet printers like printing on cardboard, plastic, and packaging will see a surge in the coming years.
✅ Thermal Inkjet is another technology that is becoming popular for printing on curved surfaces.
It’s Your Turn 💪
You can see that the printing industry is rapidly evolving. Many big players in the print industry have already welcomed the latest trends.
However, these trends have yet to cover a long distance before every single business adopts them. But surely, these printing industry trends are going to bring revolutionary changes in the entire industry.
If you own a printing business and you need any support to manage or grow your business then PrintXpand is your one stop solution!
For more than 15 years, we have been assisting print providers, eCommerce owners, trade printers, and such with our cutting-edge Web to Print Solutions.
Whether it’s integrating a Product Design Software on your online store, or streamlining your print operations with an ERP, we have got you covered!
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